After being placed under volcanic ash for fifty days on the La Palma edge, hundreds of bees survived miraculously.
The hives were 600m from Cumbre Vieja Volcano’s first eruption on September 19. They have been submerged under an ash layer since then.
The hives survived despite harsh conditions for fifty days.
The bee hives were covered in ashes from Cumbre Vieja Volcano in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
Cumbre Vieja continues its eruption on November 11, 2021 at La Palma in Spain. Since September 19, the volcano has been active.
On Saturday, officers from El Paso’s Local Police, Military Emergency Unit and Guardia Civil underwent ash to save the bees.
An officer of the police is also a beekeeper.
Elías González, president of the Agrupación de Defensa Sanitaria (ADS) Apicultores de La Palma, told EFE that five of the six hives discovered remained intact.
The sixth hive did not survive, but Mr González says that the bees may have died ‘not because of the volcano, but because they were already weak.’
The bees survived because they were fed from their food supplies.
Five of the six remaining hives survived, and they were all rescued by military emergency unity and local police on November 6.
One officer was bitten by a bee while rescuing another. They had to dig 600 metres to reach the hives.
Due to the continuing eruptions by the Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma has suffered damage of millions of euros to homes and businesses.
However, the summer honey was not removed from the beehives by their owner.
The ash buried three of the hives, while the remaining three were visible.
One of the officers was bitten by the bees during the rescue operation.
In spring, hives can house between 30,000 and 40,000 bees. With fewer flowers during the winter, they may have around 20,000-25,000 bees.